Brand new meteor shower making debut tonight

A Perseid meteor streaks across the sky during the Perseid meteor shower in Vinton, Calif. on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2009. (AP file)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — There's a new meteor shower in town and it might even turn into a full-fledged storm.

Early Saturday, the planet will pass by debris from Comet 209P/Linear. The dusty debris is what creates the meteor shower. Scientists believe the shower could produce three, four or more — possibly a few hundred more — shooting stars per minute.

North American sky-gazers will have the best views. The shower should peak from around 2 a.m. local time until nearly dawn.

Comet 209P/Linear was discovered in 2004. It will be about 7.6 million miles from Earth on Saturday. Next Tuesday, the comet will pass within 5 million miles.

The shower's name is a mouthful: Camelopardalids (CA-mull-oh-PAR-duh-lids). It's named after the giraffe constellation.